Page 34 of Ravaged By the Dark

“Oh really? Why yes, J.J., I’d love to see it.” Francine was smiling wide, her elderly eyes shining with teasing amusement.

As J.J. bounded out of the room, Francine playfully smacked her arm. “What else has that tall drink of water done for you?”

“Not that.” Renee looked away from Francine, so she didn’t figure out that something had transpired between her and Arek. “He did take us to the arcade that got shot up. That made for an interesting day.”

Francine’s hands flew to her mouth. “Oh my god! You both made it out alright, at least.”

“Yeah, we ran out the back door,” Renee smoothly lied.

She could hear J.J. coming down the stairs, the large stuffed animal thumping as he dragged it along behind him. That was Renee’s cue to get going.

“I have to get to work. J.J.’s already had dinner, but I told him he could have two cookies for dessert once you arrived.” Renee closed the textbook and stuffed the mail sitting on the counter into her bag. There was a large envelope she was terrified to open but didn’t want to leave it behind for snooping eyes.

“We are not done talking about Mr. Sexy.” Francine’s voice rose as she said the word sexy, making Renee laugh.

“I’m sure J.J. will be happy to give you a blow-by-blow re-enactment of the park, but whatever you do, don’t ask him about the arcade. J.J. is having a hard time with what he saw. It was pretty dramatic.”

“Of course, my lips are sealed on that topic, but I still want juicy details later, Missy.”

Renee met J.J. as he reached the bottom of the stairs and knelt down to his height. “You’re going to be a good boy for Ms. Francine, right?”

“Yes, Nae Nae, I is always good.”

“I am always good,” she corrected, and J.J. sighed. “I love you, J.J.” Renee smiled at him. “I’ll see you later.” She wrapped him up in a hug, shaking him back and forth until he was laughing.

“I love you, Nae Nae,” he said, his small feet thundering down the hall toward the kitchen before he finished the sentence. The large tiger was being dragged unceremoniously behind him by an ear. She smiled as he distracted Francine with an elaborate tale of his favorite part from the park, the bumper cars.

The bus ride seemed longer than normal. It didn’t hold any of the regular excitement. Being an exotic dancer hadn’t been her first choice for a career, but she liked the girls well enough, and she got to dance. Not to mention the money was great. Tonight, though, she felt disconnected. She couldn’t put her finger on exactly what had changed, but she had a few guesses.

Renee waved to the other girls as she arrived at her dressing table and froze as she spotted the bouquet of black and red roses. Hand shaking, she reached for the card and flipped it open. She sucked in a deep breath as relief washed over her.

Thank you for dancing like you have wings.

A bonus has been sent to your account as an apology for your paycheck beinglate.

Ivan

“The flowers are pretty, aren’t they? Mine are pink and yellow,” one of the other dancers said as she walked by her.

“Yes, very pretty.” They were a gift from the owner of the club. She had to stop thinking that everything was Tyson trying to scare her. He was taking up way too much real estate in her head lately, and she hated giving him that kind of power.

Renee quickly stripped down to her skimpy outfit and spent the next hour making sure her make-up and hair were perfect.

“Hey Bambi, you’re up in two,” the backstage manager called out.

“Coming,” she yelled back over the music. She quickly applied the sparkly lip gloss and trotted over to the backstage area where the manager was waiting.

“You seem nervous tonight,” the manager said as Renee bounced on the balls of her feet.

“No, just didn’t get any stretching in.” Lying was becoming way too easy.

Renee couldn’t help feeling disappointed when she stepped out onto the stage, and Arek wasn’t sitting in his usual spot in the corner. Why she tortured herself by looking in the first place, she couldn’t explain, but she knew better than to let him get close, and yet she had. Good things didn’t happen for her. If only she could figure out how not to feel anything.

Arek knew exactly how to get her to cave, make her trust him—he played on her feelings for J.J., and it had worked. He played her like a fucking violin. At least she hadn’t fucked him, although shamefully, she’d wanted him. She grabbed the gold pole and lept into the air, spinning with more speed than she’d ever generated.

Renee put every ounce of her energy and aggression into her set, and when the music and lights faded, she was greeted with loud cheers and whistles. The black dance surface was littered with tips. She gave a little bow and passed the tip collector as she marched off the stage.

Ivan was waiting for her as she rounded the corner into the hallway that led back to the changing rooms. Ivan was an okay guy. He paid his dancers well and didn’t force his employees to do more than they wanted, but he had ties to the Crimson Vipers. He most likely had the connection to supply drugs to his high-paying customers, which meant he probably reported everything she did directly to Tyson.